55: Dr. Richard Murray on Taking Texas and Fred Wertheimer on the Influence of Dark Money

With only weeks to go, gigantic sums of campaign cash have washed over the electoral landscape, but when the country is this polarized does money still talk?  James and Al are starting to become optimistic about a Biden election, and think this might be his chance to expand the map.  University of Houston’s Dr. Richard Murray reviews the possibility of flipping reliably red states, while Founder and President of Democracy 21 Fred Wertheimer discusses the role of cash in 2020 strategy and where it comes from.  After listening to them, do you think this is the year that the Democrats shock in the south? EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS FOR JAMES AND AL AT  [email protected]  OR TWEET THEM TO @POLITICON THEY WILL DO THEIR BEST TO ANSWER THEM ON NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE! WE THANK THIS WEEKS SPONSORS:BLINKIST (00:12:17)Right now, for a limited time Blinkist has a special offer just for our listeners: Go to BLINKIST.COM/WARROOM to try it FREE for 7 days AND save 25 percent off your new subscription.FOUR SIGMATIC  (00:33:50)We've worked out an EXCLUSIVE offer with Four Sigmatic on their best-selling Mushroom Coffee: Get up to 40% off plus Free Shipping on Mushroom Coffee bundles. Go to FOURSIGMATIC.COM/WARROOM This offer is ONLY for Politics War Room listeners and is not available on their regular website.MAGIC SPOON (00:53:34)Go to MAGICSPOON.COM/WARROOM to grab a variety pack and try it today! And be sure to use our promo code WARROOM at checkout to get free shipping. TIMELINE:00:00 - Intro03:00 - Liberty vs. Democracy06:15 - The stain on Amy Coney Barrett11:00 - Remembering Roberta McCain15:15 - Taking Texas17:00 - The real demographics20:30 - An outstanding gerrymander23:00 - The Texas Republican dilemma27:30 - The most interesting county in the US30:00 - Election bellwethers36:45 - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Money40:00 - Unprecedented cash flow44:30 - Shining a light on dark money48:45 - The fight for the courts55:30 - Listener Q&A